Blur haven't been corrupted by fame, says Graham Coxon

Musician Graham Coxon says Blur are unaffected by their fame and wealth

Graham Coxon doesn't think wealth has dimmed Blur's appeal.

The 45-year-old musician has returned to the iconic Britpop group to help record their new album 'The Magic Whip' and he insists that despite their fame and fortune, the group has not been creatively corrupted.

He said: "We have never had much interest in singing about lifestyle or aspirations.

"I have no trouble keeping grounded. I know my own bad habits on the guitar."

Coxon also agreed with Noel Gallagher's recent comments regarding modern-day songwriting, which has been characterised as self-pitying and lacking in substance.

He said: "I am kind of with Noel on that. I don't mind a bit of sentimentality, but a lot of it is so commercial now. There needs to be room for beautiful mistakes, that is how the best music gets made."

However, the guitarist conceded that all too often, musical comebacks are uninspired.

Coxon told The Observer newspaper: "Lots of groups come back and it doesn't really set the world alight. Even diehard fans are slightly unenthused. Yet it is a weird idea that simply because you are past a certain age you stop.

"This isn't the 1950s, the era of the teenager, any more. I always think of the old blues men carrying on making music and having children until they are 80. Pop music doesn't have to be a fleeting, age-related thing either."